As we reflect on the lead up and observance of the 10th anniversary of 9-11-01, I thought about how there are still people who believe in some kind of conspiracy about the event. And even less radical people believe there is still a cover-up of details. Why do we even think there are conspiracies and cover-ups when major national events happen?

Is it just that we can’t trust anyone in authority anymore?

When did we move from believing those in power (be it political or community) were right and looking out for our common good to thinking they are all suspicious and out only for their own gain?

Is it possible to have an inside self—a private person inside our public selves that no one else gets to know?

With so many people chatting about every little thing they do and posting images of their lives as they are happening, do we really think we can keep anything to ourselves?

I remember the time when we were telling kids to use their “inside voices” even when outside; but, really, is that a concept that died with the 80’s? If everything is out there for all to see (and frankly, just assuming people want to know what your cat looks like in the sun while sleeping, or what you look like in your underwear for that matter…) aren’t we fast turning into a nation of narcissists?

Something Else:

Photo credit: Chris Bennion

The K of D, an urban legend stars Renata Friedman as more than a dozen characters in a phenomenal and haunting performance that makes you wonder just which facets of your life and self are private and which ones are public. The play will make its regional premiere at Illusion Theater on October 8. For more information, visit Illusion Theater’s website or The K of D, an urban legend.

Is it any longer culturally relevant to say that American values stem from Puritan values?

More and more photographs of various trusted, elected officials in compromising positions widely circulate the Internet without fazing us. When said scandals revolve around the arrogance and stupidity of the offending parties, rather than the fact that the pictures exist in the first place – does this signal that Americans are no longer the prudes that Europeans—and the rest of the world for that matter—think we are?

And isn’t our national psyche just as equally influenced by the commercial—and liberal—values of the first Dutch colony that became New York?

As everything becomes more global and the focus shifts to Asia, is there room for the act of watching a play – an evening of watching people talk – or will it become a museum piece and the Western performing arts that survive will be Ballet and Classical Music?

Or will the big Broadway-style entertainment be the only kind of theater to thrive in brave new world?

Something Else:

If you really want to help the American theater, don’t be an actress, dahling. Be an audience. –Tallulah Bankhead

“I want to give the audience a hint of a scene. No more than that. Give them too much and they won’t contribute anything themselves. Give them just a suggestion and you get them working with you. That’s what gives the theater meaning: when it becomes a social act.” –Orson Welles

I had been a kid that moved so much, I didn’t have a lot of friends. Theater really represented camaraderie. –Francis Ford Coppola